US Air Force shot down Syrian combat drone in southern Syria

The Syrians, Russians, and Iranians want to test US commitments, whether it's by sending drones to al-Tanf or launching air raids against the SDF.

The battle for Rasafa, a key town southwest of the city of Raqqa, triggered clashes with the Kurdish forces and led to the downing of a Syrian fighter jet by a USA warplane.

But Damascus has said the jet was carrying out a "combatant mission against ISIS terrorist organisation".

It threatened to treat US -led coalition aircraft and drones as targets if they operate in Syrian airspace west of the Euphrates River.

Australia said on Thursday it had lifted a suspension of its airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria that was imposed amid tensions with Russian Federation after a USA fighter jet shot down a Syrian warplane this week.

The U.S. military says it has shot down an armed, Iranian-made drone that was bearing down on its forces near a garrison in Syria's southeast.

In the latest incident, the Pentagon said a U.S. F-15 aircraft flying over Syrian territory fired on the drone after it displayed hostile intent and advanced on coalition forces. Yesterday, the USA coalition announced that it had shot down a Syrian regime plane which was bombing predominantly Kurdish SDF positions.

It is the first time in the Syrian conflict that the US-led coalition has shot down a Syrian jet. The official said that coalition aircraft made a show of force and conducted a warning maneuver, and the Syrian fighter jet then aborted its trajectory and left the area.

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The incident follows the US downing of a piloted Syrian Army jet near Raqqa after it dropped bombs near USA -backed forces over the weekend, an incident that prompted a warning from Syria ally Russian Federation.

The pro-government forces are not fighting the battle for Raqqa, but they have been making ground against IS in the surrounding area, south-west of the city.

Tensions have also flared between United States forces and the Syrian regime further north, where the coalition is supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters battling to oust IS from the city of Raqa.

The US military said the Syrian jet had dropped bombs near rebel Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) fighters on Sunday. Instead we dithered and they continued to test American resolve while the USA position in Syria grew weaker even as the likelihood of conflict increased.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the shootdown an "act of aggression", but the US balked at the Russian threats and said it would continue to protect its interests in Syria.

In September 2016, US-led coalition planes targeting IS positions instead killed Syrian troops. The Syrian government forces and their allies have placed themselves south of Raqqa and on the outskirts of Deir el-Zour, the IS militants' last refuge.

Despite the increasing number of incidents, analysts say neither Syria's regime nor Washington now wants a major confrontation.

Nowhere is this problem more evident than in eastern Syria, where tensions have been escalating with Assad, Iranian-supported Shiite militias, and Russian Federation.

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